WORLD SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR No achievement appears beyond Michel Platini at the moment – not evenJohan Cruyff’s triple crown as European Footballer of the Year. As the awards continue to pile upon the Frenchman, so this next award can be his too; he has topped the poll in the last two years organised by the Paris magazine France Football. But there is much more to Platini than a pot-hunter. Many experts rank him above the 1950s star Raymond Kopa as the best player ever produced by France. His achievements on the pitch speak for themselves, while his vision as a midfield general, dribbling and finishing have made him an outstanding figure in world football. Diego Maradona’s technique may be even more magical. But in terms of imaginative achievement the Argentine cannot compare. Joeuf, where Platini was born, is a small mining town in the historical province of Lorraine in eastern France. His grandparents were Italian, his father Aldo a teacher of mathematics who was obsessed with football and coached a local team. Aldo never made the grade beyond amateur, but he quickly recognised his young son’s talent. When did you realise you had a special talent for football? “I obtained my first player’s licence – which is the system we have in France – when I was ten years old. There’s nothing unusual in that. It happens to be the age at which most boys join an organised club. Then, when I was 17 four professional clubs were on the doorstep wanting me to join them. It was only then that I realised I might have what it takes to make a career in the game. No more than that. Whether I have any particular talent which is out of the ordinary is not for me to judge. If coaches and journalists think that, I am very flattered but I don’t go around claiming that on my own behalf.” So which club did you join? “It wasn’t a difficult choice – Nancy-Lorraine. I agreed to join them in 1972. But I knew all about the club. After all, my father was a coach there already and both my parents ran the club offices. So I grew up feeling a part of the club and to play for them was just a natural step.”
My way…
withJuventus and France Interview: Keir Radnedge & Arthur Rotmil
